Nainoa Thompson

NAINOA THOMPSON | 2016 BLUE LEGACY AWARD

Renowned navigator and Polynesian Voyaging Society president Nainoa Thompson was honored at BLUE Ocean Film Festival with the 2016 Legacy Award at the annual BLUE Ocean Film Festival and Conservation Summit. The prestigious accolade celebrates and recognizes leaders that have made extraordinary achievements to create a lasting legacy in ocean conservation, exploration, education, innovation, and the pursuit of marine knowledge.
Thompson was acknowledged for his leadership on the Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage as captain and navigator of iconic sailing canoe Hokulea. Throughout the world-spanning wayfinding journey, he has guided crew members in successfully sharing experiential education and inspiring communities to care for themselves, each other, and their natural and cultural environments. In addition to Thompson, the honor was also presented to Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Greg MacGillivray, who has produced and directed some of the industry’s most enduring conservation education films.
Nainoa Thompson – native Hawaiian navigator of Hawaii’s traditional double-hull sailing canoe Hokule’a, and President of the Polynesian Voyaging Society – is a living conduit of Hawaiian culture and traditional wayfinding skills. He is the first Hawaiian to practice the art of wayfinding on long distance ocean voyages since voyaging ended in Hawai’i around the 14th century. Thompson has been a member of every major voyage of Hokule’a since she first set sail in 1976, including the 1978 voyage with big wave rider Eddie Aikau.

BLUE 2016 Legacy Award winner, Nainoa Thompson, and his team on the Hōkūle‘a, have been nominated for National Geog… pic.twitter.com/LWso3gZOz6